Ameer Abdullah's stock hits new high after strong Jaguars preseason showing

The Jacksonville Jaguars faced the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 of the preseason. There weren't too many positives to take away from the game, but there was at least one individual performance that got the fans talking in a good way.

Heading into the contest, head coach Liam Coen confirmed that his top starters wouldn't see the field for the second week in a row. Unfortunately, that meant we weren't going to see how the offense could look with Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez toting the rock behind the five best offensive linemen on the team. Despite that, we still got to see a solid day from one of the squad's most-experienced ball carriers; and he got the crowd on their feet with a dazzling highlight.

Ameer Abdullah may have given the Jaguars a reason to keep him on the final roster

While Jacksonville's offense was backed up deep into its own territory, Ameer Abdullah broke off a scintillating 23-yard dash that left a Carolina defender somewhere in Schrodinger's Lot J after he was juked out of his cleats. The initial move was enough to make SportsCenter on its own, but the entire play ended up giving the Jags more room to work with after getting them out of a pinch.

In totality, Abdullah had a solid night at the office, as he had six carries for 45 yards and three receptions for 37. Even without the ankle-breaking carry shown above, the Nebraska Cornhusker would have averaged over four yards per carry with five rushes for 22 yards.

As a tenured NFL vet who has been in the league since 2015, there was no need to give Abdullah the same type of workload J'Mari Taylor got last week against the New Orleans Saints. That being said, seeing Abdullah rack up 92 all-purpose yards at this stage of his career has to be a good sign for his chances of making the initial 53-man roster.

Even though Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, and LeQuint Allen would all be ahead of Abdullah on the depth chart, it's actually fair to say that Allen is a bit more of a special teamer until proven otherwise. If the coaching staff were to agree, that would create a spot for a ball carrier who can make people miss and find a few extra yards like Abdullah did on Friday night.

In a perfect world, the Jags would be able to keep J'Mari Taylor and Abdullah after the preseason is over. However, their position battle isn't the only one on the team's seemingly packed roster.

Despite Abdullah's great showing, nothing is guaranteed during the preseason

On paper, there's a lot of young talent who should be the foundation of Jacksonville's greatness for years to come. The young bucks were able to stage a thrilling comeback last week, but the depth pieces weren't able to dig themselves out of a hole during the second half this time.

I doubt Abdullah would have been able to change the outcome single-handedly, but now we'll never know. If we go by Coach Coen's comments about the running back during his post-game presser, the twelve-year veteran is a pro's pro who does everything right in practice and takes care of his body. That sounds great in early August, but is it enough to help Abdullah separate himself from the pack?

This offseason alone, James Gladstone drafted 10 different rookies who bring something unique to the table. Along with them, the second-year general manager signed undrafted standouts like Joey Aguilar, Trebor Peña, and the aforementioned J'Mari Taylor, who could provide their own forms of upside at a very low cost.

I say all that to say that Abdullah definitely raised his stock against the Panthers, but it's clear to see where the franchise's vision is long-term. At 33 years of age, the former second-round pick probably isn't worried about what the Jags are doing four seasons from now, but he'll have to capitalize on the opportunities given to him over the next week if he wants to stick around for another five months.

Such is life during this phase of the NFL calendar. Let's see where it, and the Jaguars' third and final preseason game, takes us next.

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